Page 24 of War Hour

Looking up at the Market Plaza, I shrink back, shaking my head in protest. “We couldn’t just train back at the compound?”

No longer am I thrilled at being back on my side of the city.

Ardis stops, turning on his heel to look at me. I shift uncomfortably as his eyes meet mine. “For you to use your shield to protect someone else, we need to have people around who you’d actually want to protect from harm, at least to start. And something tells me we won’t find someone like that back at the compound. Correct?”

My face gets hot as he stares at me expectantly, arms crossed against his chest tightly.

I mumble, “Correct.”

He nods, satisfied, before turning back to the market in front of us.

A thought strikes me.

“How would I be able to practice protecting someone here? It’s a quiet morning so far, and the guards are always more reasonable following a Trialing.”

As he ruffles his blonde hair, Ardis winces. “I received some information from a guard”—he hesitates—“there will be a stronger guard presence today, as requested by Drytas.”

Cataloging his forgoing of the word “lord” for later, I push him to elaborate.

“A stronger guard presence . . . Meaning?”

The answer finds me before I finish the question.

Shakedown conditions.

“They are looking to Trial more people.”

Chapter 11

“That’s not possible.” I shake my head. “They said the Trial was broken. Why would they start finding more people with nowhere to Trial them?”

Ardis purses his lips before murmuring, “The city doesn’t know that, though—only Drytas’s inner counsel does.”

Another power play. Making sure the Untrialed stay in line while they figure out how to fix the Trial. But what would keeping them in check really mean?

I pause, turning to scan our surroundings. “If they can’t Trial them, what do they plan to do with the people they catch?”

Ardis looks away, and I brace myself for the worst.

“The dungeons... to be held for future Trialing.”

My head draws back, a protest bubbling up in my chest. “It’s only been a week since I’ve Trialed!” A large exhale rushes between my lips as I stare back at him with wide eyes, voice vibrating with frustration. “There’s usually weeks!”

Ardis’s face tightens, lips drawing into a tight line. He nods as if he knows what I’m trying to say, but he couldn’t.

He isn’tfromhere.

I chew my lip, glancing up and down the street we stand on.

He doesn’t understand.

The week following a new Trialing was a brief reprieve for the people on the streets. With the pressure on the guards temporarily suspended, there were only a few out at a time.

It was the safest it got for Untrialed. You could shop, complete errands, anything you needed, without fear of being the target of their trouble.

The market. The first market since my Trialing.

Eyes nearly bulging out of my head, I stare at Ardis.

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